David Spady serves as Director of Government Affairs for Salem Communication Corp., a syndicator of leading conservative talk radio on over 2,000 stations which include Dennis Prager, Hugh Hewitt, Mike Gallagher, Michael Medved, Bill Bennett and 30 other talk show hosts. David is also State Director of Americans for Prosperity in California, a national grassroots organization focused on economic issues, free markets, and limited government.

Spady has been involved in political and media consulting for over 20 years. He is a columnist for Townhall.com and has appeared on numerous television news broadcasts including CNN, FOX News, ABC, NBC, CBS, and Inside Edition. His editorials have been published in a number of newspapers including the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Sacramento Bee. He is the producer of two documentary films, Wolves in Government Clothing, and No Water, No Farmer, No Food. We discuss regulations, the EPA, President Trump’s “2 for 1 regulation” executive order, and whether California can be saved.

Thanks, RA. I listened to Spady again last night and felt depressed. The 4th branch of government (the regulatory state) is so entrenched, not sure how things improve without a massive structural change.

Thanks, RA. I listened to Spady again last night and felt depressed. The 4th branch of government (the regulatory state) is so entrenched, not sure how things improve without a massive structural change.

I’d like to see some mass firings in some of these government agencies. A new broom sweeps clean. I can easily believe what Spady said about the way these left-leaning bureaucrats go into hiding during a Republican administration and then re-emerge. They should all just go.

Great interview David. In one of my prouder moments I campaigned against a firefighter running for our city council. He made the mistake of telling me “unfunded liabilities” was a problem. And then compounded the problem by listing “going to the taxpayer” as one of his three solutions. He was getting donations from fire houses all over the state. Apparently government employees like him are trying to get on councils to protect their pensions.

Annefy (View Comment): Great interview David. In one of my prouder moments I campaigned against a firefighter running for our city council. He made the mistake of telling me “unfunded liabilities” was a problem. And then compounded the problem by listing “going to the taxpayer” as one of his three solutions. He was getting donations from fire houses all over the state. Apparently government employees like him are trying to get on councils to protect their pensions.

Thanks, Anne. This is only exacerbated by the unholy alliance between public employee unions and their progressive pawns in Sacramento. The $200k per year lifeguard who retires at 50 with 90% of his pay is a perfect example of why California needs an etch-a-sketch do over.

As I told the candidate, “I’ll see you in hell before my husband and I work til our late 70s so you can retire in your 50s.” I guess “hell” in this sentence is Utah (not really; I love Utah) but unless there’s a drastic change there’s no way we can stay in California. I’m encouraging all my children to explore leaving California before they get too settled.

I believe public sector union pensions were the main reason Stockton, CA declared bankruptcy. I read of a retired fireman there who was only in his 40s whose pension was 6 figures. How did they think they could sustain that?

RightAngles (View Comment): I believe public sector union pensions were the main reason Stockton, CA declared bankruptcy. I read of a retired fireman there who was only in his 40s whose pension was 6 figures. How did they think they could sustain that?

El Segundo, California had a similar problem. I remember reading (a quick google search didn’t bring anything) that firemen with “trophy wives” (much younger wives) were a huge problem as the pension is inheritable. If memory serves, it was described as three salaries per one actual working fireman: 1) the employed fireman 2) the retired fireman 3) a wife who has survived her fireman husband